Reviews tagging 'Death'

Wellness by Nathan Hill

28 reviews

clairebartholomew549's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was one of the most meaningful and thought-provoking books I've read this year, and maybe in the last few years, too. It's a searing and in-depth exploration of what it means to be married for a long time, raise a child, exist in our modern gentrifying and technological world, and figure out your identity. I felt incredibly seen by this book - it echoed so many fears I've had about being a bad mom or being a mother becoming my whole identity, sustaining a marriage over years and inevitable sea changes in lives and personalities, never quite figuring out what I want to do with my life, etc. This was a book where I highlighted countless passages, but it was also a book where I felt deeply connected to the characters and was rooting for them to make sense of their lives. It was extremely gratifying to get prolonged insights into both Jack and Elizabeth's childhoods and how they each experienced the beginning of their love story, and this book inspired compassion for them. 

I did find some of the prose a bit meandering and verbose, so sometimes I skimmed, which is maybe cheating and maybe would have knocked this book down to me for four stars if I hadn't done that, but oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

abernathy_33's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Cancer, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Suicide attempt

mbrenner's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, and Suicidal thoughts

cats33's review

emotional informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Well written but not my style of book by any means. Felt like it was a memory quiz by going on many rangers but eventually circling back to what it is referencing or connecting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Classism

Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Colonisation

hazelgirl21's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

michelleka's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Child abuse, Death, and Death of parent

taylorfield's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Long Story Short: It’s 2014, and Jack and Elizabeth have been together since they met in college twenty years ago. As the two juggle parenting, careers, and building their forever home, they struggle with an unthinkable question - are they right for one another? 

Wellness is an exploration of how childhood experiences shape the lives of young adults, how people shift into new versions of themselves as priorities change, and what happens when people just don’t know how to communicate with each other. Nathan Hill has pretty brilliantly crafted a group of characters in a place and time where this kind of story works perfectly - spanning decades of memories, trauma, and best efforts. It manages to be sad, funny, derisive, and touching all at the same time. 

I’ll echo the thoughts of others that a good editor would have had a go at the long-winded, often technical ramblings, which at times feel long just for the sake of being long (the discussion of algorithms and a certain funeral come to mind). With a 9-page bibliography, Wellness is obviously well-researched, but it certainly didn’t *have* to be almost 700 pages. (On that note, one of my favorite quotes is from the bibliography: “This book had many such deep dives.”) Towards the end there were some “coincidences” that felt a bit too on the nose, and this is not a cast of “likable” characters by any means, but overall I can see why it’s so popular. 

I waited 10 weeks after putting this on hold, then another 6 weeks for a second hold when I was only halfway through after my first borrow and couldn’t renew, and I think it says a lot that I was able to pick right back up where I left off, minus a few small details such as Toby’s age. 

Enjoyment: 4/5

Craft: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

shankarhere's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

jamie_rich's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

thatbethguy's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A beautiful exploration of the stories we tell ourselves and how that shapes the ways in which we experience our lives. It was just a little too long for me with some unnecessary or over-explained elements.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury